The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 16, 2026

A tall wood mask features a dark face with deep rectangular eye sockets and upward-reaching spikes. A central post rises from the head, intersected by two horizontal bars with short vertical limbs pointing in opposite directions. Cream, black, and reddish-brown paint creates geometric patterns, including crossed lines at the junctions. Weathered plant fibers and metal pieces hang from the jaw, balancing the mask's rugged texture and stark, symmetrical silhouette.

Mask (Kanaga)

c. 1930s

Africa, West Africa, Mali, Dogon-style maker

Wood, paint, leather, human hair, plant fiber, and metal
Overall: 94 cm (37 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1971.289
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Performing the kanaga mask takes a lot of physical strength, so teenagers or young men typically dance it.

Description

The kanaga, characterized by its double-barred superstructure, has been interpreted variously as representing a bird, a crocodile, Amma (the creator god), or the cosmic realms of sky and earth. Kanaga maskers perform as part of dama rites, whose goal is to escort the soul of a deceased on its journey to the spiritual realm. The masks are spectacular in motion—dramatic dips and whirls in which the dancer touches the top of the mask to the ground with each rapid revolution.
  • Julius Carlebach, New York
    Julius Carlebach, New York; Katherine White Reswick
  • Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 1.
    Smith, Fred T., Judith Perani, Joseph L. Underwood, and Martha J. Ehrlich. The Visual Arts of Africa : Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 59-60, no. 3.4
  • CMA 1973: "Year in Review 1972," CMA Bulletin LX (March, 1973), p. 106, no. 32.
    CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 1, repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Mask (Kanaga)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1930s|access-date=16 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.289